Spatial Span Task

The Spatial Span Task is a behavioral measure of working memory capacity, the cognitive ability to store and manage information on a transient basis. It is an analog to the Digit Span Task. On each trial participants are presented with an array of geometric shapes such as white squares appearing on a computer screen. On each trial the squares change from white to a different color in a sequence with variable orders and colors. The task exists with two variants: forward-span and backward-span. In the forward-span variant, at the end of each list participants attempt to recall the squares in the order they changed color by typing keys corresponding to each square via keypress. In the backward-span variant, at the end of each list participants attempt to recall the squares in the reverse order that they changed color. The difficulty level is systematically increased by varying the number of boxes on each trial from two boxes (easiest) to nine boxes (most difficult). The dependent measure, spatial span, is the maximum number of boxes correctly recalled.

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Identified

The Spatial Span Task is a measure of working memory (Wechsler, 1997), which is a factor related to the larger domain of executive function that may contribute to greater self-regulation (Hofmann, Schmeichel, & Baddeley, 2012). Given evidence that higher working memory is associated with certain health behaviors (e.g., consuming fruits and vegetables; Allom & Mullan, 2014), working memory may be a mechanism of behavior change worthy of investigation.

Measured

Influenced

Validated

SOBC Validation Process

The Science of Behavior Change (SOBC) program seeks to promote basic research on the initiation, personalization and maintenance of behavior change. By integrating work across disciplines, this effort will lead to an improved understanding of the underlying principles of behavior change. The SOBC program aims to implement a mechanisms-focused, experimental medicine approach to behavior change research and to develop the tools required to implement such an approach. The experimental medicine approach involves: identifying an intervention target, developing measures to permit verification of the target, engaging the target through experimentation or intervention, and testing the degree to which target engagement produces the desired behavior change.

Within the SOBC Measures Repository, researchers have access to measures of mechanistic targets that have been (or are in the processing of being) validated by SOBC Research Network Members and other experts in the field. The SOBC Validation Process includes three important stages of evaluation for each proposed measure: Identification, Measurement, and Influence.

The first stage of validation requires a measure to be Identified within the field; there must be theoretical support for the specific measure of the proposed mechanistic target or potential mechanism of behavior change. This evidence may include references for the proposed measure, or theoretical support for the construct that the proposed measure is intended to assess. The second stage of validation requires demonstration that the level and change in level of the chosen mechanistic target can be Measured with the proposed measure (assay). For example, if the proposed measure is a questionnaire, the score on the measure should indicate the activity of the target process, and it must have strong psychometric properties. The third stage of validation requires demonstration that the measure can be Influenced; there must be evidence that the measured target is malleable and responsive to manipulation. Evidence relating to each stage includes at least one peer-reviewed publication or original data presentation (if no peer-reviewed research is available to support the claim) and is evaluated by SOBC Research Network Members and experts in the field.

Once a measure has gone through these three stages, it will then either be Validated or Not validated according to SOBC Research Network standards. If a measure is Validated, then change in the measured target was reliably associated with Behavior Change. If a measure is Not validated, then change in the measured target was not reliably associated with Behavior Change. Why would we share measures that are not validated? The SOBC Research Network values open, rigorous, and transparent research. Our goal is to make meaningful progress and develop replicable and effective interventions in behavior change science. Therefore, the SOBC sees value in providing other researchers in the field with information regarding measures that work and measures that fall short for specific targets. Further, a measure that is not validated for one target in one population may be validated in another target or population.